[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]There are some exciting new technologies that will take center stage as 5G rolls out over the next few years. This is one of the reasons partners like TELUS are investing heavily in 5G technology to ensure that as consumer demand for internet-connected devices increases exponentially, they can continue to provide a dependable network to help consumers navigate their connected lives wherever they may be.
What you might not know is that some of the more interesting advancements will take place largely behind the scenes, like improvements to processes, efficiencies in supply chains and the development of fully connected cities aimed at improving the day-to-day lives of residents.
5G Driving Efficiencies Behind The Scenes
But what will enable these improvements and shifts in the way we navigate the world?
Three current mobile network technologies are becoming superpowered with the uptake of 5G, and with effective mobile app development will enable all the behind-the-scenes processes and efficiencies that will create a more personalized and connected experience for consumers.
Speed
Perhaps the biggest (and earliest) impact by 5G felt by the vast majority of consumers and businesses alike will be overall speed. Tech experts are predicting that 5G may have the ability to reach 10Gb/s which would be approximately 100-times better than 4G currently allows.
If we look at the example of downloading an HD movie, with 4G this would likely take 7-10 minutes while 5G will allow you to do the same thing in 4-40 seconds – a remarkable improvement.
Capacity
Capacity refers to the number of devices connected within a certain mobile tower vicinity and the network degradation that can occur when there are too many people connected in that area.
For example, imagine a busy urban neighborhood where thousands of people are all using connected devices such as smartwatches, digital home assistants, gaming devices, smart fridges, medical sensors and phones all in a concentrated area. With current capacity, depending on the number of people accessing the network, there is potential for people using these devices to experience issues with speed or quality as a direct result of reaching the capacity of the network in a given area. As more and more people switch to digital devices that are directly dependent on these networks, 5G will provide a much higher headroom for capacity and will be able to scale based on need and use.
Latency
A key measure of mobile network health is latency, which stands to be drastically enhanced by 5G. Latency is essentially the time it takes from when someone presses “Enter” in a search field to the time the results are displayed on their screen which is referred to more generally as overall responsiveness.
The folks at Digital Trends looked at how latency will change with 5G and how this will likely be the driving reason for wider adoption. Currently, 4G latency sits at around 50 milliseconds between when a user issues a command and when they get a response. 5G will reduce this to be about a one millisecond delay for task-critical applications (think of your smartwatch or other similar Internet of Things [IoT] use cases) and approximately four milliseconds for mobile broadband networks – a 10x improvement.
What do speed, capacity, and latency mean for business processes?
Let’s look at a few examples where 5G’s improvements to speed, capacity, and latency will have a massive impact behind the scenes.
Healthcare
During the pandemic, there were significant impacts to key industries like the medical profession. Due to safety concerns, doctors, nurses and surgeons suddenly had to radically change their operating model in order to accommodate the ongoing needs of their patients while strictly adhering to safety protocols to ensure both patients and front line workers remained safe.
With improved 5G connectivity across the board coupled with a new level of technology adoption with patients, there is now the opportunity to fully capitalize on the benefits that virtual care can bring without losing the relationship between patient and doctor that is so essential to holistic healthcare.
With the continuation of virtual care comes many benefits such as reduced exposure risk and wait times. Behind the scenes you will see a faster, more reliable and secure network connection overall, which will result in a variety of better, safer, more convenient experiences:
- doctors seeing patients from the comfort of their homes
- reduced wait times
- patients missing less time at work
- booking specialist appointments without having to travel to major centers
- an overall decreased chance of exposure to other sick patients
The communication between specialists and family doctors will also be directly impacted as large files such as digital imaging and comprehensive test results sent back and forth digitally will take much less time and have a much smaller impact on the office bandwidth.
There are also significant benefits to healthcare professionals, such as reduced no-shows to appointments and cancellations, the ability to see more patients throughout the day and a reduction in overall costs of running their office.
Emergency care
The improvements do not just affect the behind-the-scenes activities of a doctor’s office, but also other key touchpoints such as EMT teams – and 5G technology will drive life-saving changes to emergency response care.
Ambulances will be fully connected vehicles providing video technology in the ambulances themselves to communicate in real-time with specialized doctors who can aid EMTs in providing in-transit care. The same can be said for body cameras to help assess patient needs in-field and provide doctor-guided life-saving care as they travel to hospitals. This could have a significant impact on patient outcomes overall.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing will also see significant improvements in overall processes and functionality as a direct result of 5G. Aside from significant improvements to tracking and IoT functionality, it’s interesting to look at some of the day-to-day improvements and efficiencies that you may not think about as part of warehouse automation.
The self-logging screwdriver
The team at Ericsson recently published a report looking at the more nuanced efficiencies to be found in a 5G connected warehouse. Let’s take for example a connected screwdriver. Currently, there are a number of machines that require regular manual maintenance, like tightening key machine components on a scheduled basis.
Up until now, employees must keep track of these daily or weekly maintenance tasks, such as tightening connections due to vibrations, by logging them onto sheets placed near the machines. This information is then entered by another employee into master log sheets that track maintenance across the warehouse.
5G will now accommodate smart tools such as screwdrivers that digitally record this regular maintenance and compile the digital records of this work centrally – a vast improvement in the efficiency of the process.
“The high-precision tools were fitted with real-time motion sensors that were attached to NB-IoT modules. The data runs via a cellular IoT network over the company’s private cloud and back-end systems, which make automatic calculations and intelligent analyses of the collected data.” The team at Ericsson predicts that this will likely result in cutting the amount of manual work by up to 50 percent.
Retail
We have certainly all read about the big consumer-facing changes coming to retail as a direct result of 5G connectivity, such as improved personalization, virtual try-on capabilities and the ability to implement contactless checkout processes using handheld point of sale devices. But there will also be big changes to some of the behind-the-scenes processes which will have a huge impact on cost reduction measures and overall efficiency, particularly as it relates to stock.
Managing inventory
The team at Deloitte recently published an article outlining some of the behind-the-scenes changes directly impacted by the improved connectivity of 5G technology. They cite the use case of retailers using smart cameras and sensors to provide real-time inventory and out-of-stock information to help retailers manage inventory across their brick-and-mortar stores.
By leveraging edge computing capabilities through which data is processed by the device or local computer itself, as opposed to being transmitted to a central data center, retail teams can find improved efficiencies such as planogram design and compliance across all of their stores, or roll out associate training with virtual reality (VR) and AR tools. Ultimately this means a fantastic in-store experience for both customers and retail store teams alike.
This technology and the use of tools like RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags and in-store sensors will allow centralized inventory management teams to track real-time out-of-stocks and sales across their stores that will directly impact shelf replenishment. The other key benefit afforded by these tags and tracking units individually is reducing shrink and loss at the store and inventory level.
Retail has always been an evolving industry, but consumers and industry experts will be looking to innovators in the space who are willing to take advantage of the huge opportunities presented by 5G connectivity to take the lead and develop the case studies needed to convince other retailers to follow.
The pandemic has certainly escalated the need for innovation in this space due to consumer demand for these improvements, and those retailers embracing, experimenting and innovating will undoubtedly be rewarded by consumer loyalty.
Smart Cities
Another key area where we will see a huge impact is how 5G will transform cities into “smart cities” using several key technologies to drive efficiency and improved resident experiences.
The city of Mississauga is currently piloting a multiple touchpoint smart city plan that will bring significant improvements across a number of key areas.
Perhaps the most important and significant is that 5G will allow the city to provide reliable, fast WiFi to all residents. With the onset of virtual learning models, virtual work and heavier reliance on home and public space WiFi for everything from gaming and entertainment to checking public transport schedules, this will be a huge benefit to all residents of Mississauga.
Smart waste management
Behind the scenes, there will also be important improvements that may not be seen by residents but will certainly have a direct impact on their daily lives. The city is piloting programs like smart waste management, in which receptacles have sensors that send notifications to city staff to let them know when they are full and need changing.
Over time, this can provide important information about resident use and the need for more receptacles to ensure the city remains clean and enjoyable for all residents using their outdoor spaces.
Smart traffic
City drivers will also reap the benefits of such programs as connected traffic lights that provide noticeable improvements in travel time and reduce overall emissions. This technology also extends to intelligent parking and contactless payment through a city-run app.
Smart light posts have the ability to measure air quality, provide outlets for electric vehicles and send notifications to emergency response teams in real-time.
5G enabled technology will also allow for the creation and deployment of real-time traffic strategies that adapt and provide insights, like rush hour traffic patterns, congestion information and help to ease construction frustration by providing real-time detour and avoidance information for residents.
By positioning themselves as innovators and early adopters of this technology, Mississauga is making itself an attractive location for like-minded organizations to set up shop and create employment opportunities and revenue sources for the city.
Looking forward
5G will certainly bring about several obvious changes in our day-to-day lives, but it is these advancements in the behind-the-scenes technology that will create the most sweeping changes. Consumers and industry analysts will be watching these emerging trends carefully and looking to industry innovators to set the standards for the future.
As Canadian consumers and businesses increase their use and dependency on IoT devices, AR/VR technology and mobile phone applications, providers like Telus will be working hard to ensure that they can continue to count on dependable connectivity to fuel these evolutions.
Whether it is a virtual visit to the doctor, improved processes and deep efficiencies in our factories and warehouses, a trip to your favourite retailer or simply the joy of easily parking in a smart city, it is exciting to see these innovations that 5G will escalate in our daily lives.
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TheAppLabb is a leader in the strategy, design and development of mobile apps. We work with global brands across a number of industries to create innovative and user centric business solutions and app experiences. Have an idea? Tell us about it.
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